A "NO luxuries" ban has been slapped on nearly 2,000 asylum seekers who have jumped the queue for Birmingham city council homes.

Allegedly essential living aids - like a 20in colour TV with licence paid - have been cropped from an accommodation agreement the city is about to sign with the Home Office.

Cabinet housing chief John Lines is insisting that the 260 homes being reserved for asylum seekers should be furnished only to basic standard.

The deal contrasts with those reached with private landlords who are required to provide a licensed 20in colour TV, moisture resistant flooring, electrical appliances and furnishings - including two ashtrays.

"There is no way that asylum seekers will be supplied with luxuries paid for by the taxpayer that some of our 70,000 tenants can't afford," said Coun Lines. "The homes allocated for asylum seekers under the new deal with the Government are not exactly salubrious and will be furnished with basic essentials only. There will certainly be no colour TVs with licences paid from council taxes."

For the past three years the city has taken 460 council homes out of general use and reserved them for asylum seekers sent from the SouthEast by Government agencies.

Around 200 of the flats have remained empty, with Whitehall paying rent to the city.

"I am not entirely happy to be signing up for this, but at least we have halved the numbers," said Coun Lines. "And if I don't agree to it, the Government will still disperse them to Birmingham anyway."

He said having to keep 200 homes empty while the city was faced with thousands of families claiming to be homeless was a nonsense and a waste of public money.

"Under the new agreement the number of asylum seekers has been halved. And there will be no luxuries like colour TVs paid for from taxes."